


Stage Directions

by penn_u



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Theatre, M/M, there is no plot to this tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 11:29:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3766462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penn_u/pseuds/penn_u
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sugawara enjoyed being the stage manager for the theater club, but gets roped into being a last minute replacement much to his displeasure. But, hey, he get's to hang around Oikawa more so it can't be all bad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stage Directions

**Author's Note:**

> I have no clue what I'm doing just saying ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Koushiiss on tumblr asked me to write this awhile back and I finally remembered to do it!!! I had a a lot of fun writing this.

One of the most stressful parts of musical theatre had to be the technical aspect. Sure, anyone can get up and read from a script and write it off as acting, but that was a piece of cake compared to running behind-the-scenes tech. Making sure everyone showed up on time, building and painting the set, getting microphones to work properly, and making sure costumes came in and fit correctly were a few of the horrors Sugawara Koushi, longtime production stage manager, had to face every year.

He loved helping out, so it’s not all bad. Of course, he’d rather be an actor on stage performing but with his stage fright he’d never get one line out before he’d mess it up. He still remembers the incident in grade school that started it all:

He had been forced to play a minor character during a summer production at the insistence of his teacher. Suga was a natural during practice. He had been so excited to go out and dazzle the audience with his superb acting skills, but on opening night he became so nervous he forgot all of his lines and wet his pants. Needless to say, he swore off of acting right then and there. That doesn’t mean he was completely turned off to theatre completely. As soon as he was old enough, he began to volunteer for stage manager.

Now he was in his final year of high school and helping with his last show. Sugawara regretted never auditioning for a role, but only a little. He’d made friends with many of the actors and actresses, and he was still invited to cast parties. There he would learn a lot about everyone; what show they wanted to do next, weird talents, and who they were crushing on. A couple of shows back during an intense game of truth or dare one of the younger actors, a shorter boy with a blond streak in his dark hair named Nishinoya, had asked who he was interested in. Sugawara quickly dismissed the question, waving his hand and saying there wasn’t anyone special to him in that way. It was a lie, of course, but he wasn’t going to admit he had fallen head-over-heels for one of the senior actors: Oikawa Tooru

Oikawa was in Suga’s graduating class, so his feelings weren’t solely based on what happens on stage. The actor was everything a person could want; hardworking, kind, handsome. He even had his own pack of fangirls that game to every show and waited for autographs by the green room doors. Suga had fallen hard in his second year when Oikawa helped him pick up the assortment of props after taking a nasty spill down the stairs. The brunette then volunteered to take some of the items out of the box and help Suga carry them to the stage. Oikawa had put on the large top hat he fished out of the box, and then it promptly slid down his head until only his mouth was showing. This caused Suga to laugh so hard he thought he might cry and drop the props a second time. 

They haven’t talked much off stage since then, other than having to work on in-class projects together. That was fine with Suga though, it meant he could ogle Oikawa from a distance and not swallow his tongue should he try to speak.

Sugawara posted the call for tonight’s practice and then proceeded to send out a mass text to the cast just to be sure. It was a simple “practice after school, bring a pencil,” which was hardly replied to. There were a few who would text back, simply typing an, “OK” or saying they couldn’t make it tonight something similar… unless it was Oikawa.

Oikawa may have been this charming prince-like boy, but in reality he could be very child-like. Most people were put off by it at first but eventually they would get used to his antics. Whenever Oikawa would say something, it was more often-than-not said in a teasing voice (although it was hardly anything mean.) This translated into his texting style pretty well if you knew how he spoke casually.

On the days he would reply to one of Sugawara’s texts, it would be something similar to “Okay, Suga-chan” with some sort of emoji, typically a hand holding up a peace sign. Sometimes it was an alien. No matter what emoji was used it always sent Sugawara’s heart into a frenzy.

Putting his phone away, the blond began making his way to class. He sat in his desk and pulled out his notebook. He was trying to busy himself so his heart wouldn’t burst when Oikawa walked through the door. It was hard to ignore though, try as he might. When Oikawa arrived on the scene it was always followed by a chorus of girls asking Oikawa to try their treats or sign their arms and notebooks.

 _Honestly,_ Suga thought with a sigh as he watched Oikawa corral the girls. _We’re in high school, shouldn’t they be in class?_

Suddenly Oikawa looked over and caught Suga’s eye. He then turned back to the girls and said, “Sorry ladies, class is about to start and I need to go have a few words with my friend Suga-chan over there.” He made a gesture to indicate in Sugawara’s direction, earning Suga some glares. The girls backed off and sang a “See you later, Oikawa-san!” as they all left the classroom.

Sugawara thought he’d just been used to get the girls to leave, so when Oikawa really did come over to talk to him it was a little surprising. He tried to play it cool to make sure Oikawa couldn’t see the surprise on Suga’s face.

The look on his plan must have failed him though. Oikawa Sat in the desk in front of him and turned around to face him. “Don’t look so surprised, Suga-chan. I did have something important to tell you, after all. Kunimi told me he wouldn’t be able to come today, said he caught the flu.”

“Oh no! I hope he’s feeling better soon,” Sugawara said warmly. He was glad his voice didn’t waver. He felt a lump form in his throat, and hoped it would stay there and not choke him too much.

“That being said, we’ll need you to stand in for him today at practice.”  
Sugawara almost had a heart attack. “What-- Why?” When he was little he’d been fine at rehearsals but there was no way he’d ever pick up another script.

The brunette smiled at him as though the answer were obvious. “This is a smaller show so not as many people are on hand to step in this time around.”

“Why not get Kageyama to do it? He’s only on in a few scenes and never in the same one as Kunimi, I’m sure he could do it.” Suga almost laughed at the face Oikawa made.

“Tobio-chan absolutely cannot play this part, he’d play it too well and get Kunimi kicked out of the role.”

“Kageyama has his own role, he can’t play both parts during the actual performance,” Suga argued.

“Pleeeease do it Suga-chan!” Oikawa clasped his hands together in a sort of praying gesture. “I’ve never seen you act before, you always loiter backstage. Wouldn’t it be nice to get up and read a few lines? You don’t have to perform the part on show night, just for a few days while Kunimi gets well again!”

Sugawara really couldn’t argue with Oikawa. He dropped his head dramatically to look down at his lap before looking up through his lashes. Oikawa was giving him the largest puppy-dog eyes he’s ever seen. With a sigh he mumbled a short, “I guess I could for now,” before Oikawa’s face broke into a large grin.

“Thank you, Suga-chan! I can’t wait to see how much skill you’ve picked up from the sidelines!” With that, Oikawa bounced to the other side of the room where his own seat was.’

Suga felt like he’d had the rug pulled out from under him.

***

 

Fast forward to practice. Besides dinner, it was possibly his favorite part of the day. Most of the time. Today he was dreading it. He sat in one of the chairs backstage with a script in his hands. He was sweating bullets. No one had seen him act since grade school. Sure, he’d been good at it then, but what if his talent was due to youthful enthusiasm?

His eyes scanned over the page as he listened for his cue. He didn’t enter for another page, but time flies when you feel like the ground will open up and swallow you whole. 

Someone put a hand on his shoulder and startled Sugawara. He fumbled with the script before it could fall onto the floor with a bang and sighed with relief when he caught it. He looked up to find Daichi, the senior sound technician from their class, giving him a way of reassurance.  
“I’m sure you’ll do fine, Suga. You should keep your head level,” he said with a laugh. “How are we supposed to stay calm if our stage manager is stressed out?”

Sugawara squawked. “I-I’m not used to acting!”

Daichi smiled at that before giving him a light shove down one of the stage wings. From there he heard Oikawa clear his throat and repeat his last sentence. Sugawara rushed on stage only to be met with a waiting Oikawa and Nishinoya. He took a deep breath before saying his line. He managed not to louse it up, and from there everything felt natural. All of the stress he’d been feeling before seemed to disappear. He was a little stiff, trying to read the stage notes in the margins of his script to tell him where to move and when, but overall you’d never notice he was just a stage hand.

After practice wrapped up he went to the water fountain in the commons to get a refill. Sugawara forgot how thirsty acting made you. As he was backing away from the fountain he bumped into Oikawa.

“Oops, my bad, Suga-chan!” he said cheerfully. “I never knew you could act so well, I was shocked!”

Sugawara played with the cap of his water bottle. “I guess I am, it’s nothing really.”

“Don’t be modest! It was very refreshing to act with you. Why haven’t you auditioned before? I’m sure you’d have been a shoo-in for any lead role.”

“W-well… I figured I’d be too scared to go on stage in front of a crowd of people,” Suga said sheepishly. He knew he’d be too scared to go on stage in front of a crowd of people.

Oikawa hummed, and gosh did Suga want to hear more of it. “I can see the logic behind that.”

Sugawara nodded. He was amazed he’d been able to carry on a conversation this long without completely blowing a fuse. He and Oikawa had spoken twice today-- twice! Suga felt like he was on top of the world, but at the same time it felt like he could fall off the edge of the Earth.

Just as Sugawara was contemplating his feelings, Oikawa put a hand on his shoulder. Suga almost lost it until the brunette said, “Excuse me, I’d like a drink.”

“Right!”

He stepped out of the way and watched as Oikawa bent over the fountain to gulp down some cold water. Suga couldn’t help but watch as his Adam’s apple bobbed with each swallow, Oikawa’s lips pursed to collect water. Some dribbled down his chin and Suga suddenly felt much warmer than before. He quickly pried his eyes away and looked over to the stage door, where he could see Nishinoya and a tech boy, Yaku, talking about something. Nishinoya was bouncing excitedly, which drew the attention of Hinata, another first-year who joined their club. They jumped up wildly. Sugawara was scared Hinata would hit head on the door frame when Kageyama stepped in and pulled him down to Earth. Yaku looked like he was about to fly off the handle, but he also looked like he was enjoying himself to some degree.

“It’ll be a little bittersweet when we graduate, don’t you think?” Oikawa half sighed.

Suga looked up at him. Oikawa’s brown eyes looked a little sad. He then looked back at the other actors in the doorway. He had to admit, it would be sad leaving them all once he graduated. He’d come back and watch shows, of course, it just wouldn’t be the same watching it from the house floor and not from backstage.

“Yeah,” he said simply. “We’re leaving them in good hands though, Yachi will make for a good stage manager next year.”

“I thought she was interested in acting?” Oikawa sounded surprised.

“She told me she likes acting, and she likes helping me manage things. I think she’ll end up doing both and alternating between managing and acting.”

“Sounds like something she would do! She’s cute that way.”

“What do you think of the next generation of actors?” Suga asked.

Oikawa took a moment to think it over. “I have faith they’ll continue to put on good shows for our school. Some of them could improve in some areas, but we’re not all perfect. It takes a good lead to bring out the best in everyone else.”

“You did seem to blend well with the others, you could play off of them really well. Especially when something goes wrong and some improvisation is needed!” Suga laughed as he remembered in their first year when one of the older actors forget a comedic line, but Oikawa played it off well by improvising and even earning a laugh from the audience.

“Yeah,” Oikawa said.

Suddenly Oikawa’s phone beeped, signaling he had a text. He fished out his phone and unlocked it to read the text. “Looks like my friend is here to pick me up. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr.Refreshing!”  
“Who are you calling Mr. Refreshing? It’s only for a little while Kunimi is out,” Suga smiled. He couldn’t believe Oikawa had given him a nickname after seeing him act once, but it made him happy.

Oikawa laughed cheerfully before heading towards the front doors of the school, throwing a peace sign over his shoulder. When he reached the door he turned around and pushed it open with his back, singing a goodbye to Suga as he slipped out.

Practice wasn’t as horrible as he’d thought. He was glad he got a few days of this, whatever it is.

***

 

The next day was relatively the same, with the exception of Oikawa throwing a few more Mr. Refreshing’s his way during class. He couldn’t figure out why Oikawa was suddenly interested in him. It’s not like they never talked before now, but they weren’t exactly close either. It puzzled him, but he let it be. There’s no use dwelling on it, that would only lead to over-analyzing things and assumptions.

At lunch he got a text from Kunimi, saying he was out until Friday at the latest. Suga shot back a “get well,” before sighing and slumping over his bento. Kunim would be out for another four days, counting today. That would leave only another week before show, and messing with Golden Week was asking for an early death. If he was lucky, the director would allow for Kunimi to stay in his role and not get replaced. Last minute replacements were the worst. One time they had to replace the leading lady of their Spring musical _three days_ before opening night. That was not a nightmare Sugawara and the director wanted to repeat.

Sugawara finished his lunch and pulled out his script, studying over Kunimi’s lines. There weren’t a lot, but there were a few monologues here and there. The blond glanced at his watch, he still had about twenty-five minutes before class would resume. He could get rid of his script for a few scenes. Holding it made him feel out of place standing next to the others in a scene. He managed to memorize half of the lines by the time class resumed.

Oikawa came into the room laughing, probably at a joke from his lunch group. He flashed Suga a smile before sitting down in his seat. Suga smiled back, but he wasn’t sure if he saw, but Daichi obviously did. He stopped at Suga’s desk on his way back to his own.

“Is it me, or do you look like you have a crush on someone?” he chuckled.

Suga almost choked on his own spit. Of all the people to catch on, it had to be Daichi, the one person who would confront him about it.

“Of course not! I’m just happy is all!” He replied anxiously.  
“You do like someone, I knew it!” Daichi put his hands on Suga’s desk.

Sugawara smacked Daichi’s arm hard, earning a quiet whine. “N-no I don’t! Be quiet, Daichi!”

“Alright, I got it. You _totally_ don’t have a massive crush on anyone, Suga.”

Sugawara began to pout. Daichi had no right to tease Suga about his crush, when it was obvious Daichi was over the moon about Yui Michimiya one class over. Luckily he was saved from any further torment when the teacher walked into the room, forcing Daichi to continue to his own seat.

If Daichi noticed his feelings, that means he was being more obvious than he thought. He began to worry at his own lip as the class carried on, having a hard time focusing on the board.

***

 

Sugawara groaned and opened his eyes. Had he been asleep? No, he wasn’t in his bed or at a desk. He was laying flat on his back, probably on a hardwood floor. His head hurt, and the lights above him didn’t help-- was he in the gym? It looked like it. A vision began to crowd his vision.

“--a-chan! Suga-chan, are you okay? Hey guys, I think he might be alright.”

Was that Oikawa? It sounded like it. He sounded worried, why was he worried, was someone hurt?

“Hey now, sit up. Slowly. You took a nasty fall off the stage,” the person, who Suga decided was in fact Oikawa, helped him up. Someone passed his an ice pack and the brunette held it to the back of Suga’s head.

“Wha-- what happened?” Suga sighed as the burning pain in the back of his head began to cool off.

“The director told you that he wanted you to take over Kunimi’s part and you practically jumped off of the stage!” Someone squeaked, it was probably Yachi. “We were so worried! What if it had seriously hurt you? That would mean not one but two members of the cast would be out for performance week. Kunimi is really, really sick and probably won’t recover in time. Then you fell off of the stage and hit your head-- what if you died? It would be all over the school paper! ‘Theatre department kills senior student in freak accident’! What if the club got disbanded, what if we were arrested--”

“Woah, woah. Yachi, slow down,” Suga winced. He loved Yachi, but right now with his pounding headache just couldn’t deal with her voice rising in volume and pitch.  
“We’ll give you some medication and let you sit out the rest of practice, Suga-chan, but we really would like to have you think about taking the role,” Oikawa said placidly.

Suga would only nod as he was lifted up to his feet and walked back up to backstage. He got set down smoothly and given the ice pack to hold for himself. He watched the rest of the cast pick up and carry on with the show. His mind wandered to the offer he’d been given. Take over Kunimi’s role? He’d feel a little bad, and not only that, he’d probably have a repeat of grade school. But, then again, he was in his final year of high school. He was more than likely over his stage fright, or at least past the pants-wetting point. And he’d have a group of people he was comfortable to rely on in case he messed something up…

Before he knew it, practice was over and Oikawa was hovering around him to make sure he was okay. Suga couldn’t help the blush that creeped on his face as he felt Oikawa’s hands on his to peel away the ice pack and look at the bump on his head. It still stung a little, but considerably less than it had an hour ago. Sugawara smacked his arm, trying to make Oikawa back off and create some distance between the two of them. It didn’t work much.

“So have you given it any thought?” Oikawa asked.

“To what the director asked?” Suga questioned back. “I gave it a little thought, and I might be up for it. I mean I’ve been doing it for a week already, so why not?”

“I’m glad to hear! Too bad this is your first and last show,” Suga could have sworn he saw something flash behind Oikawa’s eyes, like Oikawa was up to something, but as quickly as it had appeared it was gone.

“Right. I’m sad Kunimi won’t be well enough to perform, though.”

“We both know it happens. With a smaller cast, it’s a hard hit when someone gets sick so close to showtime.”

Sugawara hummed. He couldn’t remember a time when any of them got sick so close to show week. But then again, Kunimi was a first year that he didn’t know too well. He had no clue how strong Kunimi’s immune system was or if he had any Springtime allergies. Oikawa said he’d gotten the flu, but now he was wondering why Kunimi told Oikawa first and not him. If anyone should miss practice they should report to the director or the manager. He could ask the director if he’d been told, if he had that would mean Sugawara didn’t need to be told directly.

The lack of responsibility and the glint in Oikawa’s eyes just now made him suspicious, but before he could get up and ask anyone about it, Oikawa gripped Suga’s hand and lifted him from the chair.

“If you’re going to do the show, you need a costume, Suga-chan!”  
Suga smiled and the mole under his eye crinkled slightly. “Yeah, I guess I do, let’s go down to the dressing room and see what we’ve got.”

Oikawa nodded and they began making their way there. “You won’t fit in Kunimi’s, since he’s taller than you are. We’ll need to find you something that fits the role while still looking nice. Then again, you’d look good in almost anything.”

Sugawara almost choked. Oikawa had that effect on him. “Y-you’ve always looked nice in your costumes, Oikawa.” This made Oikawa laugh. Oikawa opened the door and held it for Sugawara, and they entered a brightly lit room filled with costumes. They began pulling clothes they thought would fit off of hangers before pairing things together.

“Kunimi’s character-- well, your character-- is something like a butler, so we gave him things like a white button down and some black slacks. We’ll need to find you something like that, o-k?” Oikawa was concentrating hard on finding something right for Suga. He put a hand on his hip and cocked one of his legs out, staring at the pile. After a beat he leaned over and began sifting through the pile. Sugawara joined in too.

He always found costumes for the others, it was only right to find his own.

The found nothing of use other than a belt that wasn’t falling apart, a butler’s jacket, and pair of black dress pants to go with it. The jacket and the pants would work, but Sugawara sighed in defeat as he decided to bring his own shirt and shoes. Most people were responsible for bringing their shoes, so he couldn’t complain on that front.

“Well, at least we got most of my costume.”

“I guess there’s always a bright side. We’ve all had to bring in something in the past, I guess it’s your turn!” Oikawa said brightly. 

Suga was ready to explode. He’d been crushing on him for so long, but he could function properly because he was so out of Oikawa’s orbit that there was no way he’d have the chance of messing something up.But now… he was talking to Oikawa. Regularly! He’d been able to play it cool so far, but any more of this and he’s be done for.

Sugawara coughed and thanked Oikawa for his help. He wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. “I’ll bring a white shirt and some matching shoes by tomorrow.” With that he hung up his outfit and left Oikawa in the dressing room by himself.

He breathed a sigh of relief once he got out of the school building. _Three more days, he thought. Three more days until I’m finished with theatre, and finished being on Oikawa’s radar._

***

 

If he kept this up, Suga would finish his water bottle before the show even started. He needed to stop entirely, in case grade school did repeat itself tonight. He brought the bottle down from his lips and wiped away the excess. Everyone was milling around the dressing room making last minute fixes before curtain was called. Sugawara was out of his element here. He’s never been in costume waiting for the show to start, he’s always been upstairs watching the house fill up while waiting for the director to call places.

Nishinoya zoomed by with Hinata hot on his tail, Kageyama following soon after trying to get them to stop messing around so close to show time. Sugawara didn’t know what happened, but he heard something about hitting Kageyama in the back of the head with a paper ball. He sighs and hopes Yachi will be able to handle them when Sugawara’s gone. The three younger actors finally settled down on one of the couches. Suga found Yachi sitting on the other one and he slid down next to her.

“How are you feeling, Sugawara? Nervous?” She asked.

Sugawara smiled at her. “A little, this is my first show after all.”

“I thought you were in a show when you were younger? Daichi told us about it once over ice cream. He said you haven’t been in a show since then, but he wouldn’t say why.” A pit formed in Sugawara’s stomach. How did Daichi know about that? He’d have to ask at the end of the show, but for now he could only worry about being his best on stage.

“Who else did he tell?”

Oh, well-- not many, I mean there were a few of us but it’s really not a whole lot of people--” Yachi accelerated before Suga cut her off.

“Yachi, tell me who he told.”

“I think it was Yaku, Daichi, Oikawa and myself,” she answered.

Oikawa knew he had done a play before! No wonder he was hounding Sugawara these last two weeks. Just another thing he’d have to deal with after the show. Thankfully, he didn’t know why Suga never did another show. God, if he did Suga might just die.

His walkie fuzzed and beeped with an incoming message from their director: places in three. He relayed the message to the cast like he would any other show. _Here we go,_ he thought. Now he just had to get through the next hour and a half, and two days after that. He was going to kill Daichi when this was over. No doubt hearing the story of Suga’s First Play inspired him to get Sugawara a last minute part, and because they still needed Oikawa for two days Daichi would have to make do for now.

Suga waited behind the thick black curtain separating him from his worst nightmare. He legs were shaking and his stomach was doing a full gymnastics routine while his heart pounded in his chest. Was this how all actors felt on the first night? This was torture, how did everyone do it year after year? Maybe he could bolt, maybe if he left now he could get out of here and everyone would be able to cover for the sudden absence of a character and--

“The show must go on, Suga-chan,” Oikawa whispered behind him. The blond almost leaped out of his skin. Oikawa looked very nice in his costume. The brown pants went well together with the grey vest and tie Oikawa donned, and the large coat Oikawa had over his shoulders looked very regal, almost screaming “look at me, I’m the main character.”

“Of course, but shouldn’t you be saying ‘break a leg’?” Sugawara chuckled. 

Oikawa thought this over. “Maybe, but you’re so nervous that you just might.”

“Wha-- I would not! I’m fine, thank you!” Sugawara said indignantly. The look Oikawa gave him meant he didn’t believe a word of it.

“Here’s a technique my middle school director taught me, okay?” He turned Sugawara around so they were face each other and put his hands on Suga’s shoulders. “Breathe for a count of five, and exhale for ten. Repeat this until you’ve settled down.”

Sugawara followed his instructions and after doing it a few times he felt a little better. He thanked Oikawa just as the lights went down, signalling it was time to act like he wasn’t about to die of fright.

***

 

Suga could feel tears well in his eyes.

But not because he was upset, but the opposite. He’d done it, he’d gotten through the first night of show without a hitch! He was so happy, he couldn’t believe it. He never knew the lights blocked out most of the audience, and to prove it was the fact that he was bowing next to the rest of the cast on the front of the stage while applause roared for them.

The cast began to file off of the stage and down to the gym floor to meet the crowd. Sugawara got many handshakes from old women and men, most of whom said they didn’t recognize him or said he looked so nice up on stage. It made him feel like he could jump over the moon. Eventually the crown began to slim down, and he was free to congratulate the other cast members himself.

As he was bouncing through the line of cast members, he spotted Oikawa near the end talking with someone. As he got closer he felt happiness course through his body like an electric shock.

“Kunimi! I’m glad you felt well enough to come see the show! Did you like it?” Suga asked him.

Kunimi looked shocked for a second, as though he hadn’t been prepared for Sugawara to find him in the crowd. He cleared his throat before replying, “Yes, it was very nice Sugawara-senpai. I’m glad you were able to take over my role. Oikawa-senpai was right when he said you’d do well.”

“Oh, so he predicted how well my performance would go and told you about it?” Suga felt like a nerve had been pinched.

“Suga-chan, you did lovely!” Oikawa hugged him. “And of course I told Kunimi you’d do his role justice!”

“It wasn’t my role after you asked me to let Suga-senpai have it,” Kunimi said lazily.

“Really? He did that for me? Oikawa, what a nice guy you are to get me a last minute role in our last show together!” Sugawara began patting Oikawa on the back but added more force with each word. Eventually Oikawa groaned and he stopped. “I’m glad you got me to perform in my very first show.”

Oikawa laughed nervously and scratched his cheek.

Kunimi watched their exchange, and as he did he also pulled his cell phone out and typed something in quickly. He put it back in his pocket and glanced back at /oikawa and Suga, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

With a sigh, Suga said, “Alright, I think it’s time for me to go and get changed; it’s late.”

“That it is, Suga-chan. I’ll go with you,” Oikawa said in reply. He held up a peace sign for Kunimi as he said, “See you Kunimi-chan, thank you!”

When they reached the dressing room downstairs, Sugawara fished through his backpack to turn on his phone and check for any missed notifications. Out of the corner of his eye he saw OIkawa take off his shirt, hang it up, and apply some deoderant to his underarms. Suga almost dropped his phone. As his screen came to life it buzzed with a text notification.

From Kunimi.

**I wasn’t really sick, Oikawa wanted to perform with you. I think he likes you.**

Oikawa… liking him? As in a crush? And what did Kunimi mean he wasn’t sick! He had the flu! He wanted to confront Oikawa, but first he wanted to slip out of his outfit. Black was the worst color to wear under stage lights. As he slipped on his tee shirt, he turned around to find Oikawa digging under a couch for his shoes. He looked hilarious, but that wasn’t important. What was important was getting to the bottom of things and trying to get something out of it.

“So, Oikawa. Why exactly were you so adamant on getting me on stage this time around?” he asked in the sweetest tone he could muster. He probably could have rotted a tooth.

“I thought for sure you would audition sometime during high school, but you never did. I figured you would like it and do well,” Oikawa said as he got up from the floor and onto a couch.

“Is that so?”

“Right, a little birdie told me that you once did a show. I want to know why you never did it again, but after tonight I might be a little glad you didn’t. You would have stolen my spotlight years ago!” Oikawa laughed.

His laughter was infectious, and soon Sugawara was laughing heartily, too.

When they two boys settled down Suga smiled at Oikawa and suddenly felt brave. He stepped over some of the other actors’ bags and decided he was going to kiss Oikawa tonight. Unfortunately he tripped on someone’s tennis shoe on his way over to the couch and fell face first into Oikawa’s lap. He instantly shot up and felt his face burn.

“I’m so, so sorry Oikawa!” He apologized profusely. God, his clumsiness was probably his worst enemy. As he stood up to run away when he felt Oikawa’s hand latch onto his wrist.

“At least buy me dinner first, Suga-chan,” Oikawa said sheepishly. When Sugawara looked over, he found that Oikawa’s blush could rival his own.

Sugawara gulped. “It’s a date.”


End file.
